


Lost in the Subtext

by gingerandtonic



Category: Nancy Drew - Carolyn Keene
Genre: F/F, Queer Themes, Subtext, oneshot fanfic, under 1000 words
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-15
Updated: 2018-01-15
Packaged: 2019-03-05 02:08:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13377873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gingerandtonic/pseuds/gingerandtonic
Summary: In which Nancy attempts - and fails - to solve her own unspoken feelings.





	Lost in the Subtext

**Author's Note:**

> A few different things inspired me to create this oneshot. There really isn't anywhere enough fanfiction out there for this pairing, and I really appreciate the few writers who have contributed fics, so I thought it was high time I returned the favour. Secondly, I got thinking about how interesting it would be to write a fic which is based purely around body language and ambiguous interactions, leaving it up to the reader to fill in the rest of the narrative. And lastly I feel like subtext is a fitting theme for a NancyxGeorge fanfic, given that the original books are set in an era when it wasn't acceptable to be in an explicit same-sex relationship. 
> 
> Comments, constructive criticism and feedback are all welcome - hope you enjoy!

Subtext: An ambiguous interaction. A feeling which does not reveal itself easily. A narrative conveyed purely through body language.

Subtext is too easily overlooked. At surface level it resembles a placid ocean, insignificant and unassuming. But in the depths below, a vast world looms. Anyone pulled into it risks suffocation. The further you are enveloped by it, the more you feel the pressure acting upon every inch of you.

Nancy felt that pressure in full force. Her chest ached from it. Her mind swam in it. The ocean had dragged her down, and she was a willing captive.

No one else saw it. She moved through her life as per normal, assisting her father with cases and running errands for Hannah. Her calm demeanour, perfected over many months of sleuthing, was the perfect façade.

The subtext was nothing really, but inside it felt like everything. And it especially felt like everything today.

“Hey Bess, George”. Bess bounced up immediately and pulled her into a tight hug, happy as always to see her friend. George hung back, catching her eye and smiling at her. “Hey Nance”. She and George never really hugged.

George’s eyes flickered down and away as Bess asked after Ned. Nancy related to her the internship opportunity he had just accepted in Atlanta, but her mind wasn’t really paying attention. She wouldn’t be going with him, anyway.

Her eyes met George’s. George held her gaze for a second, before looking away again. Nancy’s mind swam.

“…Nancy?”

She refocused on Bess. “Sorry, what did you say?”

“I asked if you’ll be going to Atlanta as well. A year is a long time for him to be away!”

Nancy smiled weakly. “I don’t want to give up my cases here. I’ve got a really good lead on the Greenhill robbery, and Dad has mentioned that one of his new clients may need my opinion on an abandoned property dispute as well. There’s always work coming in. Ned understands, he said he’s likely to be too busy in Atlanta for me to come along anyway”.

The expression on Bess’ face was of both happiness and disappointment. “Oh. I’m glad you’ll still be here, but I thought things were going well between you two”.

Nancy hesitated. “…They aren’t bad. I think we’ll just see what happens in the future. It isn’t a deal breaker, just a hard situation to predict”. George was playing with a strand of her short, brown hair. She twirled it around one finger, eyes glazed over as she stared out the window. Nancy followed her gaze. The yard was empty.

Bess led most of their conversation that afternoon, as per usual. She always found plenty to discuss, and the three of them had a pleasant time. George eventually recovered from her uncharacteristically quiet spell, and playfully teased Nancy. Affection laced her pseudo-insults. The sleuth scoffed at her jibes, laughing to disguise the fluttering in her chest. She wondered if her eyes betrayed her at all. Hopefully not.

Nancy could solve almost any mystery she came across. Her quick thinking and attention to detail guided her through even the strangest of cases. But this was a mystery she could not understand so easily.

She never expected her hardest case to be herself. And she never expected that her friend would also be so closely embroiled, along with her.

The evening drew to a close. It always went too quickly. Nancy went to bed as soon as she got home, worn out from her brain’s endless rumination. Two hours later, when her clock informed her that sleep was a futile matter, she gazed at the ceiling and sighed. Her thoughts wandered.

George’s fingers were slender and pale, with a surprisingly delicate gracefulness to them. Her face was the same shade of creamy white, punctuated with the occasional freckles. She kept her thick, dark hair cropped short and tousled, and habitually ran a hand through it. Her eyes sparkled when she teased Nancy.

When she poked Nancy in the ribs to get her attention, she kept her touch soft.

This was the issue with subtext. It was the thick silence in the room that no one dared to talk about, a tension which was observed yet not discussed. Nancy didn’t dare to consider the possibility of that subtext becoming explicit. That was too risky.

If she and George were to continue in this tentative dance, it would have to be invisible. The biggest danger was that she could never be certain of the subtext actually being real. But from her perspective, at least, it was impossible to ignore.

Nancy closed her eyes again, and sank into the depths.


End file.
